Indians notes: Lonnie Chisenhall sent to Columbus

Everything was set up for Lonnie Chisenhall to make this work. The Indians' supposed third baseman of the future and the present was in a veteran-laden lineup where he would not be asked to carry a heavy offensive load. The Indians were winning, so his struggles weren't magnified. He also was coming off a great spring training, hitting .400 with four doubles, four home runs and 12 RBI in 60 at-bats.

None of it mattered -- the Indians Monday demoted Chisenhall to Columbus.

Simply put, Chisenhall simply didn't hit. In 94 at-bats, he hit .213 with three home runs and 11 RBI. He also didn't walk -- only three in 26 games -- which led to a dreary .253 on-base percentage and an awful strikeouts-to-walks ratio of 22-to-3. Defensively, Chisenhall made a team-high four errors.

Against left-handed pitching, Chisenhall was worse: an .091 batting average (2-for-22) and an on-base percentage of .130.

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All of it led to the decision by Tribe officials to pull the plug on the 24-year-old third baseman.

"The outcome of his at-bats was starting to affect his play," said Manager Terry Francona. "He is such a big building block for this organization that we wanted to send him down, let him catch his breath and get on a roll. This is not an indictment on how he's played. He's a big part of what we're doing. He'll figure it out and come back here and be a force."

Who's on third?

With Chisenhall gone, Mark Reynolds started both games of Monday's doubleheader at third base.

"He'll obviously get more starts there now," said Francona, who added that Mike Aviles will also get some starts at third base.

Perhaps the player most affected by the Chisenhall demotion is Jason Giambi. With Reynolds, who has started more games at designated hitter than anyone on the roster, now likely to be in the lineup at first or third on most days, Giambi will likely become the everyday DH.

Huff 'n stuff

To replace Chisenhall on the roster, the Indians purchased the contract of pitcher David Huff from Columbus. Huff was designated for assignment at the end of spring training and passed through waivers unclaimed, so the Indians outrighted him to Columbus.

Huff pitched mostly in the bullpen at Columbus. In nine appearances, two starts, seven in relief, he was 3-1 with a 4.07 ERA. In 24 1/3 innings, he allowed 21 hits, with 28 strikeouts and nine walks. Opposing batters hit .223 against him.

Blue Monday

The Indians came into Monday's doubleheader second in the American League in hitting with a .269 average. In the two games vs. the Yankees, they hit .169 (10-for-59). They had five hits in each game, and weren't exactly facing the Yankees' thoroughbreds. New York's starting pitchers were David Phelps and Vidal Nuno.

Franconamen

Francona came to Cleveland with a reputation as a player's manager, and that continues to be the case in Cleveland.

"He doesn't try to control everything," said Reynolds. "His rules are: Be on time, play hard and hustle. If we do that, he's happy. For the most part we run our own clubhouse. (Jason) Giambi and Swish (Nick Swisher) help. For the most part it's players policing players."

Said Justin Masterson: "He treats us like men. When you treat guys like men, you get men."

Adios

In a ceremony between games of the doubleheader the Indians presented Yankees closer Mariano Rivera with a gold record of Metallica's "Enter Sandman." That's Rivera's entrance music at Yankee Stadium when he comes in to save games.

Rivera, 43, has announced he is retiring at the end of this season and is being honored at every visiting ballpark.